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I regularly see couples in my clinic who are struggling to juggle the demands of running a home, on top of other pressures such as career and family, and this often leads to cracks in their relationship

Dr Linda Papadopoulos

The figures are revealed in a Happy Home study by YouGov for a new home management site, Hoppy, which aims to cut the stress of running a home. It questioned 2,000 adults nationwide and found more than a third see running their home as or more stressful than their day jobs.

Britons spend on average 10 hours a week on household chores and tasks – more than a standard working day each week, dealing with home-related admin, chores and other jobs such as paying the bills, cleaning and putting the bins out.

In a typical month, men clock up 37.7 hours on “household management” while women clock up 47.5 hours – two hours a week more, largely on chores like cooking and cleaning. But getting more help could be a solution.

A quarter (26 per cent) say they rely on help to run their household and one in five (22 per cent) felt getting a cleaner would lead to a happier relationship.

Chartered psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said: “I regularly see couples in my clinic who are struggling to juggle the demands of running a home, on top of other pressures such as career and family, and this often leads to cracks in their relationship.

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Hoppy managing partner Richard Longmore added: “Managing a home, and everything that comes with it, is clearly causing many of us unnecessary stress.

“The underlying anxiety caused by having a mounting list of DIY jobs, or monthly home admin can be a real barrier to creating a happy home life.”

Household woes that keep us awake at night include an untidy home and a lack of storage space which worries a third of us. A fifth are concerned about bills and needing to replace fixtures and fittings, plus badly done DIY jobs.

Other life concerns include balancing the demands of work and running a home and envying friends’ and neighbours’ homes.

Express writer Chris Riches (Image: NC)

MAN’S VIEW

From Chris Riches

Daily Express writer

In a modern family both partners should share the chores – but I am simply shoddy at housework!

I do my bit, like walking the children to school, cooking meals, baking the odd Victoria Sponge and popping to the shops.

But while I rule the roast, my wife rules the roost when it comes to housework as – I admit – she knows what she’s doing. I hate to wash my dirty linen in public, but I have a view on dust which is if I don’t bother it, it doesn’t bother me. That doesn’t wash with Mrs Riches.

Meanwhile, my method of laundry is throwing salvos of either “white” or “dark” apparel into our creaking machine. My wife actually “reads the labels” to avoid boiling a silk designer frock on a low heat for three hours.

Express writer Jan Disley (Image: NC)

WOMAN'S VIEW

From Jan Disley

Daily Express writer

Two weeks more housework a year? Don’t make me laugh – it’s more like three months! June to September I’d say. And believe me, nobody would ever describe me as overly houseproud.

OK, so I am a divorced mum with two student sons and no partner to moan at. But that just means I pay all the bills, do the DIY and 95 per cent of the cleaning.

Both my boys have honed some skills in recent years, the benefit of university living.

They both cook and number one son cheerfully puts out the bins. Number two son does most of his own washing, mainly because I (accidentally) shrank a couple of his designer T-shirts.

But don’t even mention washing up, drying up, dusting, vacuuming or mopping floors – so, a few weeks ago I treated myself. I got a cleaner.